Starting from the roots

Water is essential for life, it's used in everything that we do, from cooking and cleaning to personal hygiene and staying hydrated.

It’s important to remember that water is a finite resource. Despite much of the earth being made up of water, nearly of it is salt water, or frozen. Less than 1% of the world’s water is readily available for human use, and what we do use, we take from the environment.

Did you know that much of the water we use in our homes is taken from rivers and lakes that wildlife in the UK rely on to survive?

As a drinking water only company, we abstract water from more than 250 boreholes, six rivers and six reservoirs, to treat at one of our 88 treatment works, before pumping through our network of 9,000 miles of pipes, to your taps. We consider ourselves the guardians of the environment and work hard to protect and enhance the areas we abstract water from for future generations.

In 2023 our 25-year environment plan (H25) was created. Within this plan we’ve worked with more than 200 customers, stakeholders, and employees putting people and planet first.

One of the four key areas of the H25 plan is Climate change – building an environment that adapts to a changing climate.

Climate change is here and with changing weather patterns, including warmer summers and drier winters, water is becoming increasingly more vulnerable. With the changes in our climate, more water is being used in and around our homes putting more pressure on the environment, rivers and reservoirs where we take our water from.

Biodiversity is all the different kinds of life that you will find in one area, such as animals, plants or fungi.

Boosting biodiversity:

We manage 33 sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), two nature reserves, and numerous national landscapes.

As part of our mission to increase biodiversity across the land we own and manage, we have planted a huge 28,475 trees in Kent and Sussex over the last four years. This includes an initiative with South Downs National Park Trust, which has taken part in planting a large portion of the trees.

This great achievement has helped us increase biodiversity across our sites, creating new homes for a wide range of wildlife and supporting environmental sustainability.

Pilot projects:

We have been working to protect our natural environment through the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP), by doing so we have been working on 10 biodiversity pilot projects. From chalk grassland restoration in Friston, to Wart-biter bush cricket reintroduction and habitat restoration at our Deep Dean Water Treatment Works in East Sussex, our work to protect the environment is extensive and ongoing. You can find out more about what we’re doing to boost biodiversity here.(opens in a new tab)